Stencil assembly with foldable adhesive covering guardian strip

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a novel stencil assembly employed in duplicating address and other information on cartons, packages, and the like. The assembly includes a narrow strip with pressure sensitive adhesive on one side, a stencil tissue having a carbon material covering its back side, the stencil tissue being connected along its upper front surface to the adhesive leaving a major portion of the adhesive exposed. A narrow guardian strip beneath the stencil tissue is connected to a portion of the exposed adhesive leaving a portion exposed. A protective backing sheet is disposed beneath the guardian strip and stencil tissue with the upper edge of the backing sheet engaging the remaining exposed area of the adhesive. The guardian strip is foldable to cover the exposed adhesive strip, bared by subsequent removal of the backing sheet.

limited States Patent [191 Rabelow Jan. 22, 1974 STENCIL ASSEMBLY WITHFOLDABLE ADHESIVE COVERING GUARDIAN STRIP [75] Inventor: Harold H.Rabelow, Marion, 111.

[73] Assignee: Marsh Stencil Machine Company,

Belleville, I11.

[22] Filed: May 27, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 147,394

[52] US. Cl. 101/128.1, 101/128.2 [51] Int. Cl B41n l/24 [58] Field ofSearch.. 101/127,127.1,128.1,l28 2,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,457,856 7/1969 Rydberg eta1. 101/l27.l X 2,771,026 11/1956 Mooney..... 101/129 X 1,761,722 6/1930Gordenstein 101/127.l X 2,779,268 1/1957 Brown 101/1282 2,070,181 2/1937Ryan 101/1282 2,976,802 3/1961 Mason 101/128.l 3,280,732 10/1966 Mooneyet a1 l0l/l28.l

Primary ExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant ExaminerR. E. SuterAttorney, Agent, or FirmRogers, Ezell, Eilers &

Robbins ABS'I RACT There is disclosed a novel stencil assembly employedin duplicating address and other information on cartons, packages, andthe like. The assembly includes a narrow strip with pressure sensitiveadhesive on one side, a stencil tissue having a carbon material coveringits back side, the stencil tissue being connected along its upper frontsurface to the adhesive leaving a major portion of the adhesive exposed.A narrow guardian strip beneath the stencil tissue is connected to aportion of the exposed adhesive leaving a portion exposed. A protectivebacking sheet is disposed beneath the guardian strip and stencil tissuewith the upper edge of the backing sheet engaging the remaining exposedarea of the adhesive. The guardian strip is foldable to cover theexposed adhesive strip, bared by subsequent removal of the backingsheet.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field Of TheInvention The present invention relates generally to the duplicatingart, and more particularly to a novel stencil assembly for hand printersfor duplicating information such as addresses on surfaces such ascartons after being cut such as in addressing an invoice.

2. Description Of The Prior Art The present novel stencil assembly is animprovement over existing stencil assemblies employed for the samepurpose. Prior art stencil assemblies are disclosed in the Mooney U.S.Pat. No. 2,771,026, and in the numerous patents cited as references inthe prosecution of the Mooney patent. Also in the concerned field is theMooney US. Pat. No. 3,113,671, and the references cited in theprosecution thereof. Other patents have been granted in the same generalfield. However, there has long been the need in the hand stenciling artfor a stencil assembly which eliminates the objectionable feature ofadherence of the adhesive strip of the structure of the Mooney US. Pat.No. 2,771,026, for example, to the carton, and the like, in thestenciling operation. The present invention supplies the solution tothis long existing problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In brief, the present novel stencil assemblycomprises a narrow strip to one side of which is applied pressuresensitive adhesive of the reusable type. A stencil tissue or sheet hasthe upper front edge in engagement with a portion of the adhesive,leaving the remainder exposed, the stencil tissue and strip being ofsubstantially the same width. The rear surface of the stencil tissue iswith a carbon material for reproduction purposes. A narrow guardianstrip of substantially the smae width as the adhesive strip and thestencil tissue engages along one of its edges a portion of exposedadhesive and extends beneath the stencil tissue. A removable backingsheet is connected to the remaining portion of the exposed adhesive andextends beneath the guardian strip and the stencil tissue in protectivemanner. Prior to disposing the cut stencil tissue and attached guardianstrip in operative position on a hand stenciling or printer unit, thelower portion of the guardian strip is folded back through 180 intoshielding engagement with the exposed adhesive of the adhesive strip toprevent accidental and undesirable sticking to cartons, and the like, inthe stenciling operation.

Objects of the present invention are to provide a novel stencil assemblywhich satisfies the long existing need in the art of a structureeliminating accidental sticking of a portion of the stencil assembly tocartons, and the like, being stenciled; which incorporates guardianmeans positively shielding normally exposed reusable pressure sensitiveadhesive employed in stencil assemblies of the type presently concerned;which simplifies stencil assembly construction; which provides a simpleand sturdy unit readily and efficiently employed for the intendedpurpose of duplicating information such as an address, on a large numberof cartons surfaces such as, and which otherwise fulfills the objectsand advantages sought therefor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of astencil assembly incorporating the principles of the present invention,the backing sheet and the guardian strip being peeled back in part intoraised positions for better illustration of the structure, the thicknessof each of the several elements being exaggerated to facilitatedisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on sub stantially theline 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2, but with the backingsheet removed and with the guardian strip folded through into protectiveposition;

FIG. 4 is a plan view on a smaller scale of a blank invoice sheet, astencil assembly, less the backing sheet, being removably adheredthereto for cutting of the stencil and addressing of the invoice; and

FIG. 5 is an end view of a hand printer or stencil unit with the presentstencil assembly, less backing sheet, attached thereto in operativerelation.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings moreparticularly by reference numerals, 10 indicates generally a stencilassembly formed to include the teachings of the present invention.Broadly, the stencil assembly 10 includes an adhesive strip 12 having onone side an adhesive coating 14 of a pressure sensitive reusable typeand a stencil tissue or sheet 16 having a top edge A, a front side B,and a back side C. The stencil sheet 16 is of a type com monly known inthe art whereby information is typed or otherwise imprinted on the frontsurface B, and whereby the stencil may be used to imprint theinformation on a selected surface, such as a shipping carton. A carbonmaterial 18 covers the back side C of the stencil sheet 16 forreproduction purposes. Also included are a narrow guardian strip 20, anda backing sheet 22. The adhesive strip 12, the stencil tissue 16, theguardian strip 20, and the backing sheet 22 are of substantially thesame width across the top.

With particular reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the top front portion of thestencil tissue 16 engages and covers approximately the lower half of theadhesive coating 14, the upper edge of the guardian strip 20 about halfof the remaining exposed portion of the adhesive coating 14, and theupper edge of the backing sheet 22 the remaining exposed part of theadhesive coating 14. The backing sheet 22 also covers the guardian strip20 and the stencil tissue 16 in full protective manner. As is indicatedabove in the description of FIG. 1, the thicknesses of the severalelements is exaggerated for illus trative purposes. Hence, the stepsshown at the left of FIG. 2 are substantially non-existent in theproduction stencil assembly 10 since the several elements are quitethin, particularly the stencil tissue 16.

In FIG. 4 the stencil assembly 10, less the backing sheet 22, is shownadhered to a blank invoice 24. In the usual manner of using a stencilassembly, the backing sheet 22 is removed to expose that portion of theadhesive coating 14 previously covered thereby. This permits the stencilassembly 10, less the backing sheet 22, to be removably attached to theinvoice 24, as shown in FIG. 4. The invoice with the stencil assembly 10attached thereto is placed in a typewriter and simultaneously thedesired address, or the like, cut in the stencil tissue 16 and printedon the invoice 24 by means of the carbon 18 on the back of the stenciltissue 16.

The stencil assembly 10, less the backing sheet 22, is removed from theinvoice 24. The lower portion of the guardian strip 20 is folded through180 into the position of FIG. 3 to cover the theretofore exposed portionof the adhesive coating 14. The stencil assembly 10, less the backingsheet 22, is then applied to a hand stenciling unit 26, as in FIG. 5,with the stencil tissue 16 maintained in position by the stenciling inkon the inking pad 28 thereof. The folded over guafdian strip 20 isentirely out of the way in the stenciling operation. The hand stencilingunit 26 also includes a flexible squeeze bottle handle 30 which is areservoir of stenciling ink, a table 32, and structure supporting thesqueeze bottle handle 30 above the table 32 and the inking pad 28therebelow in operative manner providing for selective reciprocation ofthe inking pad 28 with attached stencil assembly 10, less the backingsheet 22, from the retracted position of FIG. to stenciling positionagainst a carton, and the like. The hand stenciling unit or hand printer26 forms no part of the present invention, but is the subject matter ofcopending application ofthe present applicant, Ser. No. 110,385, filedJan. 28, 1971, now abandoned and Ser. No. 271,257, filed July 13, 1972.Manifestly, the stencil assembly 10, less the backing sheet 22, may beoperatively applied to other hand printers or stenciling units.

With reference to FIG. 3, the guardian strip 20 is folded into theposition illustrated. It will be understood, of course, that theguardian strip may be folded through 180, but with the lower portionthereof disposed at any position between just covering the exposedportion of the adhesive coating 14 to that of FIG. 3. It is onlyessential that the exposed adhesive be covered.

It is clear from the foregoing that there has been provided a novelstencil assembly which fulfills the objects and advantages soughttherefor.

lt is to be understood that the foregoing description and theaccompanying drawings have been given by way of illustration andexample. It is also to be understood that changes in form of theelements, rearrangement of parts, and substitution of equivalentelements, which will be obvious to those skilled in the art, arecontemplated as within the scope of the present invention which islimited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

l. A stencil assembly comprising a stencil sheet having a top edge, aportion of one side of said stencil sheet being coated with a carbonmaterial, adhesive means on one side of said stencil sheet along the topedge thereof leaving a substantial portion of said stencil sheetextending below said adhesive means, and a guardian means on the otherside of said stencil sheet from said adhesive means and having one edgeattached to said adhesive means such that an upper portion of saidadhesive means is exposed, the guardian means having a portion extendingbelow the adhesive means a distance at least sufficient to be foldableinto position covering the upper exposed portion of said adhesive meansto avoid sticking of said adhesive means in use.

2. The stencil assembly of claim 1 wherein the adhesive means furthercomprises a strip of pressuresensitive reusable adhesive substantiallyalong the entire top edge of said stencil sheet.

3. The stencil assembly of claim 2 further comprising a backing sheetremovably secured by the remaining exposed portion of said adhesivestrip and covering the guardian means and the stencil sheet.

4. The stencil assembly of claim 2 wherein the stencil sheet has a frontsurface on which the stencil is cut and a back surface, the adhesivestrip having adhesive on only one side and being secured to the frontsurface of the stencil sheet such that the adhesive side of the adhesivestrip faces the front surface of the stencil sheet.

5. The stencil assembly of claim 4 wherein the carbon material coatingis on the back side of said stencil sheet.

6. The stencil assembly of claim 5 further comprising a backing sheetremovably secured by the remaining exposed portion of said adhesivestrip and covering the guardian means and the carbon coating.

7. The stencil assembly of claim 1 wherein the lower extension of saidguardian means is substantially less than the extension of the stencilsheet below the adhe-

1. A stencil assembly comprising a stencil sheet having a top edge, aportion of one side of said stencil sheet being coated with a carbonmaterial, adhesive means on one side of said stencil sheet along the topedge thereof leaving a substantial portion of said stencil sheetextending below said adhesive means, and a guardian means on the otherside of said stencil sheet from said adhesive means and having one edgeattached to said adhesive means such that an upper portion of saidadhesive means is exposed, the guardian means having a portion extendingbelow the adhesive means a distance at least sufficient to be foldableinto position covering the upper exposed portion of said adhesive meansto avoid sticking of said adhesive means in use.
 2. The stencil assemblyof claim 1 wherein the adhesive means further comprises a strip ofpressure-sensitive reusable adhesive substantially along the entire topedge of said stencil sheet.
 3. The stencil assembly of claim 2 furthercomprising a backing sheet removably secured by the remaining exposedportion of said adhesive strip and covering the guardian means and thestencil sheet.
 4. The stencil assembly of claim 2 wherein the stencilsheet has a front surface on which the stencil is cut and a baCksurface, the adhesive strip having adhesive on only one side and beingsecured to the front surface of the stencil sheet such that the adhesiveside of the adhesive strip faces the front surface of the stencil sheet.5. The stencil assembly of claim 4 wherein the carbon material coatingis on the back side of said stencil sheet.
 6. The stencil assembly ofclaim 5 further comprising a backing sheet removably secured by theremaining exposed portion of said adhesive strip and covering theguardian means and the carbon coating.
 7. The stencil assembly of claim1 wherein the lower extension of said guardian means is substantiallyless than the extension of the stencil sheet below the adhesive means.